Sievierodonetsk: Civilians refuse to evacuate from Azot chemical plant

KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO – SATURDAY, 18 JUNE 2022, 21:39

Serhii Haidai, head of the Luhansk Oblast Military Administration, reported that civilians who are hiding in the Azot chemical plant in Sievierodonetsk have refused to evacuate.

Source: Haidai on air during the 24/7 national joint newscast

Quote: "We are constantly communicating with them. We have offered to evacuate them on many occasions, but they don’t want to do it."

"Just in case, we asked our guards to record a video call with these civilians, their refusal to evacuate. We have a lot of footage in which people are being offered evacuation, but they don’t want to do it."

Details: Haidai noted that, according to the most up-to-date information, there are currently 568 civilians hiding in the Azot chemical plant, including 38 children.

"People are hiding in shelters, of which there are several. This shouldn’t be compared to Azovstal [in Mariupol - ed.]. This is not an underground bunker, but several separate shelters not connected to one another. There is a different number of people in each of these shelters," the head of the Luhansk Military Administration said.

Haidai also said that Russia has deployed all its reserves on the Sievierodonetsk and Bakhmut fronts. Russian troops are attempting to establish full control over the acting administrative centre of Luhansk Oblast [the city of Sievierodonetsk - ed.] and to cut off the Lysychansk – Bakhmut supply route, but have not been successful so far.

Earlier:

• On 17 June, Haidai said that evacuation from the Sievierodonetsk Azot plant was impossible.
• Russian forces continue to destroy the Azot chemical plant, where both the Ukrainian military and civilians are sheltering. On the morning of 14 June, Russians struck the buildings of the Azot chemical plant and the Skloplastyk fibreglass and plastic plant.